


Liquid Courage (Won't Make This Conversation Easier)

by RobinsonsWereHere



Category: Psych
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Explicit Consent, F/M, Feelings, Fully Consensual Sex, Get Together, Kissing, Making Out, Romance, Shules, but not a lot, but not smutty, confession of love, i slightly alter shawn and abigail's break-up, implied sex, many feels, no graphic smut, post-episode: s04e10 You Can't Handle This Episode, this is...pretty m
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-03-30 19:59:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19034605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinsonsWereHere/pseuds/RobinsonsWereHere
Summary: After the events of 4x10, Shawn and Juliet are both hurting. Shawn's just been broken up with. Juliet now knows her brother is not who she thought he was. They each go out on their own, to find a bar to hide in and drinks to soothe their hearts. Only, they end up at the same bar.





	Liquid Courage (Won't Make This Conversation Easier)

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea in the dead of night just before I went to sleep. I'm surprised I remembered it asdfghjk

Shawn is back in a familiar routine, but he’s not slipping back into it as seamlessly as he expected. He’s got a seat on a shadowy barstool and a full glass of beer, but something doesn’t feel quite right. He knows how this should go: drink a little too much, flirt with a random girl, either go home with her or eventually pass out in his own bed. But he hasn’t done that in years, and by now, it doesn’t feel quite right.

He doesn’t want to get full-out drunk, so instead, he sips slowly at his drink and watches. There are a few couples at tables behind him, but he doesn’t watch them for long. The bartender is a polite, efficient woman with multiple ear piercings, but none anywhere else. _There’s a burly guy in the back ready to step in if something goes wrong._ There are two men behind him way past drunk, laughing loudly and waving down waiters for more drinks. _They’ve both got wedding rings on… I bet they’ve got people they should be going home to._ Not right next to him but one stool over is a blonde who looks incredibly depressed. _A rumpled suit without the jacket, ink stains on her hand, holster still on but empty. A cop, then._ Shawn shakes himself. He can’t believe he hadn’t spotted her earlier. “Jules?”

She startles, nearly spilling her whiskey. “Shawn! I… didn’t see you there.”

He huffs out a laugh. “Well, I didn’t notice you either, so.”

“What, ah, what brings you here?”

“Same as you, I guess.”

She chuckles. There’s no emotion in it. “I highly doubt that.”

“Sick of the world, confused and hurting, want to stop thinking but afraid you’ll say the wrong things to the wrong people if you get wasted?”

She blinks. “Huh. Guess you are psychic.”

The word stings like a hot iron to bare skin. Shawn drinks a swig of beer. “I’m not.”

Juliet fidgets with her glass, moving it around and drawing patterns in the condensation. “I don’t know what you want me to say to that.”

“I don’t know either. I don’t know why I said it.”

“It doesn’t matter. You aren’t the worst thing that’s happened to me this week.”

“I accused your brother of murder.”

“You were right.”

“Not technically.”

“Shawn, are you drunk?”

He stares at her, but he doesn’t really look, because if he looks he’ll fucking drown in her beautiful blue eyes. “No, Jules. But I’m not sober, either.”

“I’ve just… never heard you sound unsure of yourself, let alone admit you were wrong.”

Shawn’s starting to think he might need another beer. “Abigail broke up with me.”

Juliet chokes on her drink. “Oh. I’m sorry. Do you want to… talk about it?”

He shrugs. “Misery loves company.” Juliet only nods and turns to face him fully, her elbow on the bar and her head in her hand. Shawn takes a deep breath and begins explaining. “So, Abigail’s going to Uganda. For six months. She tried to invite me to go with her, but… that just wasn’t going to happen. We agreed that she’d go and I’d stay, but a day before she’s set to leave, she turns to me at lunch and she goes, ‘I don’t think we can do long distance’. So I’m just like, ‘where does that leave us,’ because what the hell do you say to that? I was just blindsided and I didn’t even have time to process a word she’d said. It sucked, but… we walked out of there no longer a couple. We agreed that if we’re both still willing when she gets back, we’ll see what happens.”

“That’s… harsh.”

Shawn’s almost forgotten that it’s Jules he’s ranting to- Jules, who uses professionalism as a shield, yet still has conversations with him about soulmates and love curses. He winces inwardly, but keeps talking. “The worst part is, I’m not nearly as torn up as I should be. I was hardly even sad to see her go.” _Okay, Spencer, time to change the subject before you say something you’ll regret._ “So, uh, yeah. I’m pretty sure that’s over.”

Juliet nods thoughtfully, sipping her whiskey. “Well… at least it wasn’t messy. I’ve had a few messy breakups, and they’re really not fun.”

Shawn snorts, although it wasn’t exactly funny. “There’s that.” He sips his beer. “So… what ended up happening with Ewan?”

As much as he needed to change the subject, he almost regrets doing so when Juliet’s expression clouds over. Her face is stony but her eyes fill with a raw hurt that makes him want to kick himself. “We brought him in. I told him he had one phone call and asked him if he was going to call our parents or if I had to. I’m still not sure he did.” Her following gulp of whiskey is just a little too large. “God, Christmas is going to be a nightmare.”

“Were you close, when you were younger?”

“We were really close. Thomas is closer to me in age, but Ewan was always my favorite brother. He taught me to punch. He taught me to swim, and surf. God, I don’t know what I would have done without him.” She swallows hard and runs her finger around the rim of her glass. “He enlisted straight out of high school. First he came back weekends during boot camp. Then he’d visit us on important occasions, when he was working in the country. He finally got deployed, and he came back with a promotion, to whatever the hell special ops is. I know- I _know_ war changes people, and I know he’s seen a lot, but… my brother would never kill a man just to cover up someone else’s mistake. He couldn’t. So I don’t know who he is, anymore, but he’s not…” she chokes, and Shawn wonders if she’s crying. He wonders if he should take the stool in between them and try to comfort her. Juliet finally looks up and finishes her sentence. “He’s not my brother anymore.”

“Shit, Jules… I’m really sorry.” Shawn tentatively moves closer, taking the seat next to her. She doesn’t object but she doesn’t move toward him, either. For a few minutes, they’re silent, sipping at drinks. Juliet finishes her whiskey and requests a refill.

“Shawn,” she says finally, “did you… did you know it was me you called, when you got shot?”

He takes a swig of beer- he’s definitely gonna need another drink. “Yeah, Jules… I did. I called you on purpose.”

“Why?”

He looks at her. He feels almost numb, except for the ball in his chest that’s something like guilt or hurt or maybe love. “I don’t think you want to know why I called you. I think you want to know if I meant what I said.” He waits, but she’s only staring at him, chewing her lip. “Am I right?”

She nods, her voice barely a whisper. “Yeah.”

“I meant it, Jules,” Shawn murmurs. “I only cut you off because… because I was afraid that you saying it back would mean I’d have to deal with my emotions, face consequences and all that. But Jules…” he pauses, noticing that Juliet has looked away from him and is fidgeting with her glass. “Jules, look at me. Please?”

Juliet glances up at him. Her expression is reserved, but her eyes show something akin to hope. Shawn keeps going- if he stops himself again, he’ll never say it. “Jules, I love you. I love you so much it hurts, it feels like I can’t breathe. You mean so fucking much to me, but I’m terrified to tell you. I’m terrified of losing you.”

“Shawn…” Jules has leaned forward, and Shawn has rested a hand on her arm without even realizing it. “Shawn…” She appears to be struggling for words, but Shawn is suddenly much more interested in how her tongue is sweeping across her lips as she thinks. He leans closer, waiting for her to pull away.

Juliet closes the gap between them, their lips meeting and her arms going around his neck. Shawn groans at the sensation of her mouth on his as their tongues tangle together. She tastes of whiskey, and Shawn’s never really liked whiskey, but right now it tastes better than pineapple. When they finally separate to breathe, he’s gasping.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” Jules whispers into his shoulder.

He tilts her chin up and kisses his way from her lips down her neck. “Tell me to stop and I will.” She says nothing, and he sucks at her collarbone until she moans.

“Shawn…”

He keeps going, deciding he’d like to leave a mark. “Jules.”

“Shawn, come home with me. I need you.”

His heart leaps (it’s not the only part of his body reacting to hearing her plead for him like that) and he looks up, glancing from Juliet to the half-full whiskey glass. “You’re not drunk, are you?”

She shakes her head. “Barely even tipsy. I haven’t even had two drinks, and I’ve been drinking slow. You?”

“Same.” Shawn tosses down a couple of bills. “I’ll pay for your drink.”

“You don’t have to-”

“It’ll be faster if we don’t have to pay two bills.”

“Alright, fair point.”

:::::::::::::::::::

Juliet gives a large sigh of pleasure as she all but melts into Shawn’s mattress. Next to her, Shawn rolls over and props himself up on his elbows. “Did you enjoy that?”

She smirks at him. “What, you couldn’t tell?”

He chuckles. “Oh, I could. I think the part where you were screaming my name was a dead giveaway.”

Juliet smiles and pulls him in for a kiss. “Shawn, I’m glad we did this.”

“I bet you are,” he teases. He then raises his voice several octaves, into his ‘Jules Voice’. _"Shawn, oh, Shawn-”_

Juliet smacks him. “I’m trying to be serious, you goof.”

He nods and traces patterns over her bare skin. “I love you,” he murmurs. “I love everything about you. Your smile, your intense sense of right and wrong, how you’re the kindest, most caring person I’ve ever met.” He kisses her gently on the lips. “I’m glad we did this too.”

Juliet’s smile turns into a yawn. “I love you too, Shawn,” she whispers, cuddling into his chest.

“Oh, did I tire you out?”

She smacks him.

“Alright, alright. Goodnight, Jules.” She feels him press a kiss to the top of her head.

“Goodnight.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! let me know what you thought with a comment or kudos, or find me at chiefkarenvick on tumblr!


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